A zoning success story welcome to the neighborhood! a new home and a new studio: a dream come true?

A zoning success story welcome to the neighborhood! a new home and a new studio: a dream come true? Anyone who has ever set out to build a successful home studio knowsthat just the building of the business takes a tremendous amount oftime, dedication and creativity. In the beginning stages, musicians areconsumed with proving their educational abilities, developing lastingrelationships with students and studio parents, and building arepertoire library with educational tools and activities. I had beenteaching for several years using an upright piano in anine-by-eight-foot bedroom of a two-bedroom apartment. In time, I had awonderful group of students and was faced with the challenge of makingsure the music education experience would continue to improve as mystudents were improving. With lots of saving and careful planning, myhusband and I purchased a townhouse town��houseor town house ?n.1. A residence in a city.2. A row house, especially a fashionable one. in a great location that wouldcontinue to be convenient for my studio families. A beautiful finishedbasement that had room for a new grand piano, comfortable waiting andhomework area; a computer station and plenty of space for music gamesand activities awaited my students. I had achieved my dream of creatinga home-based music studio that was comfortable, spacious and ideal forgreat music making and sharing. And, of course, we would be welcome inour new neighborhood.... You Are NOT Welcome Here Within a few days after our move into our new home, we hadexchanged several pleasant getting-to-know-you conversations with ournew neighbors. Imagine our surprise when one of our neighbors informedus suddenly and angrily that he had reported me to our communityassociation and our township for running an illegal business. So, twoweeks into resuming my teaching, our seemingly courteous cour��te��ous?adj.Characterized by gracious consideration toward others. See Synonyms at polite.[Middle English corteis, courtly, from Old French, from cort, court; see and friendlyneighbor friendly neighborbryophyllumtubiflorum. became very angry and antagonistic antagonisticadjective Referring to any combination of 2 or more drugs, which results in a therapeutic effect that is less than the sum of each drug's effect. Cf Additive, Synergism. about a music studiooperating in his neighborhood. In fact, several of our neighbors wereextremely alarmed at the changes in the activities taking place in theirneighborhood. You might assume from my neighbors' reactions thatthe studio created a tremendous noise nuisance, and I conductedlarge-scale classes with large numbers of students swarming swarming1. a phenomenon observed in cultures of Proteus spp. on solid media in which there is progressive surface spreading from the parent colony.2. the periodic bee migration of the old queen and accompanying workers and drones from a full original hive which is in and outof the area. This, of course, was not the case. The townhouse was chosenbecause its cement walls provided good soundproofing Soundproofing is any means of reducing the intensity of sound with respect to a specified source and receptor. There are several basic approaches to reducing sound: increasing the distance between source and receiver, using noise barriers to block or absorb the energy of the sound . The studioactivities are not visible to the community, nor is there a signadvertising the studio. I teach forty-five- to sixty-minute individualsessions, and a parent observer accompanies most students. What washappening was change in a neighborhood that had seen very little changein quite some time. In addition, I learned that most of my new neighborsdid not have any background in music. Therefore, they had littleappreciation for the value of music education in the community. Fighting for My Rights I initiated several discussions with my new neighbors after tensionand anger had slightly subsided on both sides. Fortunately, my neighbordecided to drop the complaint against me. I appreciated his willingnessto give me a chance to prove myself to be a respectful re��spect��ful?adj.Showing or marked by proper respect.re��spectful��ly adv. neighbor.Generally, our neighbor relationships are slowly developing intofriendships. However, I decided it would be best to face the complaintto the township and apply for a home-based permit to legalize le��gal��ize?tr.v. le��gal��ized, le��gal��iz��ing, le��gal��iz��esTo make legal or lawful; authorize or sanction by law.le my studio.I had never faced a hostile reaction like I had experienced in thiscommunity. I, therefore, had never felt it' necessary to formallyregister the studio. If I was going to feel like I belonged in my newcommunity, I needed to face the challenge of proving that a professionalmusic studio is an asset of community pride, not a business to keepsecret. Although I appreciate my new neighbor's change of heart, Idid not want to teach simply because my neighbors decided to "turna blind eye" to my business. I did not want to promote the ideathat I was hiding my studio. Instead, I needed to promote myself andother independent musicians as "legitimate" professionals, whodeserve respect and have a right to work in the community. We cannotachieve this if we are perceived to be deceptive de��cep��tive?adj.Deceptive or tending to deceive.de��ceptive��ness n. about listing ourbusiness formally, publicly and legally. Before the township hearing that would decide my fate as a pianoteacher with the right to make a living in a new community, I hadcontacted MTNA MTNA Music Teachers National AssociationMTNA Middle Tennessee Nursery Association (McMinnville, Tennessee). They responded by submitting personalized per��son��al��ize?tr.v. per��son��al��ized, per��son��al��iz��ing, per��son��al��iz��es1. To take (a general remark or characterization) in a personal manner.2. To attribute human or personal qualities to; personify. letters andpackets of information that proved invaluable for presenting the manypositive aspects for maintaining the tradition of private musicinstruction and supporting my personal rights to run a home-based musicstudio. In fact, when my hearing with the township zoning committee hadbegun, the very first comment I received from the board was a glowingreview and thank you! They expressed their appreciation for the wealthof useful information provided by MTNA in the fundamental values ofsupporting home-based music educators in the community. MTNA helpedrepresent me as a professional worthy of respect in the community. WithMTNA's support, I received my permit, and my neighbors'complaints against me were dismissed. You Are a Teacher: Educate YourNeighbors and Community I now have the legal right to run a music studio in my home. Thatdoesn't mean all my neighbors agree with the township'sdecision. I have a great deal of "neighbor education" to do toacquaint them with me and help them learn about the music making thatgoes on in their community. Here are some of the actions I have beentaking to help establish a more welcoming and appreciative community: Schedule Time to Meet Your Neighbors Individually: Help them get toknow you personally and briefly explain what you, do professionally. Thechance to speak with our surrounding neighbors greatly helped to sharemy passion for what I do and for the joy I feel in being a pianoteacher. We've had some great conversations ranging from BruceSpringsteen to favorite Christmas songs. Establish Parking Rules. The change in traffic volume andunfamiliar faces can make neighbors nervous about the safety of theirautomobiles and children playing Album InfoArtist: Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers Genre: Reggae Label: EMI Records and Tuff Gong Year: 1986 TracksSide 1 Met Her On A Rainy Day Reggae Is Now Children Playing in the Streets Rock It Baby in the community. If living andteaching in an association community, be sure your students and theirfamilies strictly adhere to adhere toverb 1. follow, keep, maintain, respect, observe, be true, fulfil, obey, heed, keep to, abide by, be loyal, mind, be constant, be faithful2. parking rules and walk to and from vehicleskeeping their voices in softer speaking tones. Establish a consistentroutine for all families and be strict when enforcing these rules. Allopportunities to demonstrate your students' families are polite andrespectful of the community will go a long way with uneasy neighbors. Share Your Music. One of the greatest benefits of having neighborsis the chance make friends. Occasionally, make time to invite a neighborover and perform for them after a lunch or dinner. When a student ispreparing for a competition and a recital Recital - dBASE-like language and DBMS from Recital Corporation. Versions include Vax VMS. , invite neighbors over as adress-rehearsal audience. If your community hosts holiday or annualgatherings, try to provide some live music when appropriate. Providemusic for your community, when you can, as your contribution to thespirit and life activities of your hometown home��town?n.The town or city of one's birth, rearing, or main residence.Noun 1. hometown - the town (or city) where you grew up or where you have your principal residence; "he never went back to his hometown again" . Be an Advocate for Yourself. Many independent music instructorshold advanced degrees and are dedicated and organized professionals,offering an invaluable service to their communities. Music teachers areas educated and specialized as lawyers, financial advisors andtechnology consultants, many of who are turning to operating home-basedbusinesses. Apply for a home-based permit to help maintain yourprofessional rights and positively impact initiatives that supportin-home music teaching. Do not wait like I did--do not conceal yourbusiness from your neighborhood. Stand firm and fight for your right tooffer music education in your community, as well as your right to make aliving as a music educator. Contact MTNA immediately for information oncompliance and applying for "exceptions" to zoning ordinances.They are your most committed advocate. I want to say a special thanks to Gary Ingle in��gle?n.1. An open fire in a fireplace.2. A fireplace.[Perhaps Scottish Gaelic aingeal, fire, light. and MTNA for theirhelp and support for the approval of my studio permit and to IngridJacobson Clarfield, my teacher, mentor and the one who always reminds meto fight for what you believe in. Thank you very much! And thank you to my husband, Keith, who is my studio'snumber-one fan! Thanks for your faithful support and encouragement as wemade it together through another challenge! Here's to enjoying ournew home and its music together! Kelly Setler Scheer has a bachelor's degree in pianoperformance and pedagogy from Westminster Choir College -- Westminster Choir College is a residential college of music located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States.Westminster has a choral emphasis that educates men and women at the undergraduate and graduate levels for music leadership careers in churches, schools, of RiderUniversity Rider University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian university located chiefly in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, in Mercer County. It consists of four academic units - the College of Business Administration, the College of Liberal Arts, Education and Sciences, the College of and master's degrees master's degreen.An academic degree conferred by a college or university upon those who complete at least one year of prescribed study beyond the bachelor's degree.Noun 1. from Teachers College, ColumbiaUniversity Teachers College, Columbia University (sometimes referred to simply as Teachers College; also referred to as Teachers College of Columbia University or the Columbia University Graduate School of Education . She teaches class piano at Westminster Choir College and hasan active piano studio.